Tuesday, February 20, 2018

I am reflecting on one of the toughest fighters to ever lace 'em up in Canadian heavyweight contender George Chuvalo. There are murmurs about him being essentially abducted at the age of 80 recently, in what is just one more very sad tale of George's complex family life. He has been a truly wonderful ambassador for the sport, in addition to one of the roughest contenders of the division's history. Here in March of 1966, Muhammad Ali shares a very intense moment with George in their first fight, with Ali defending his title on the road in Chuvalo's backyard.

If I recall correctly, Ali said Chuvalo was the toughest man he ever faced, and Chuvalo said the same about Muhammad. Here, you see George's tough inside body mauling and Ali's habit of holding the neck and back of the head as part of his attempt to assert his physical dominance over his opponent. That glove would work its way around, to the chagrin of a few referees as much as the opponents, whenever his opponent was pressing inside where Ali was less effective. He tried to pull down and tire them out, rough them up, stop them from continuing to work. Chuvalo kept working though, and Ali went to the hospital after winning, due to blood in the urine. They would fight again, still in Canada, still with Ali taking a hard-fought decision, and they'd be friends until Muhammad's passing in 2016. Well wishes to Mr. Chuvalo.

Work that bag,
Basemeng Gym Boxing

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